Therapy
by Loveheartx
Summary: Hermione gets caught up in the attack on the Quidditch World Cup. When Fred saves her they grow closer and develop a complicated friendship . The road to recovery is paved with Triwizard Tasks, the rise of the Dark Lord and war but somewhere in between there's school, drama and romance!
1. The Quidditch World Cup

**This is the first time I've written anything in a very long time and I've finally motivated myself to get going again. This is another Hermione/Fred fic and an idea that I had one day when reading a fic for something else entirely. Enjoy!**

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Hermione arrived at the Burrow in the ridiculous hours of the morning. The lopsided and shabby house looked welcoming and like home even in the half light of sunrise. Molly had ushered her inside and given her an enormous breakfast with the rest of the Weasley clan before she excused herself to go and find Harry and Ron, who she knew must have still been asleep to miss out on such an enormous meal.

She pushed the door to Ron's bedroom open and sure enough the two were asleep, Ron mumbling something about spiders whilst Harry tossed and turned something awful.

"Boys!" she whispered.

Neither boy stirred from his dreams.

"Harry!" She hissed and jabbed him in the side.

"I-wha-ahh!" Ron awoke and nearly fell out of bed at the sight of Hermione in the room.

"Get up, you're missing breakfast and we need to leave soon!"

Hermione left the room and managed to catch a couple of extra slices of toast and squeeze in between Fred and Ginny at the kitchen table. It was another twenty minutes before the boys were downstairs with their things.

"Time to go then!" Arthur Weasley announced cheerily from the top of the table.

"But Dad we haven't had breakfast yet!" Ron complained.

"If you'd gotten out of bed an hour and a half ago when you were supposed to then you would have had plenty of time for breakfast young man!" Molly told him angrily and Ron had the sense not to say another word about it before they left.

"Dad where are we going?" Ron asked as they set off from the Burrow.

"Haven't a clue!" Mr Weasley called back cheerfully.

"Well that's bloody useful!" Ron muttered, a little annoyed.

Hermione had no idea what to expect from the next twenty four hours or so. She'd watched Quidditch at Hogwarts plenty of times but really had no idea what to expect from the World Cup. Mr Weasley had managed to get tickets from the Ministry, enough for all of his children plus Harry and Hermione to go and it was all they had spoken about in their correspondence for the last month.

"Ah, here they are!" Mr Weasley shouted from in front of them as he gestured to a short, older man and his son who were up ahead of them after they'd been walking for about forty five minutes.

"That's Cedric Diggory!" Ginny hissed at her and the two girls began giggling furiously about the attractive Hufflepuff boy who was a couple of years older than them. Fred and George rolled their eyes

It wasn't until they reached the top of the huge hill they'd been climbing that their destination was in sight. An old boot had been placed at the summit and Hermione eyed it curiously, expecting them to have come across something far grander than a boot that looked more likely to have been in a rubbish heap than atop of the hill.

"Grab hold everyone!" Mr Weasley instructed them before he led the way and placed his hand on the boot, which Hermione now understood was a portkey, which then began to glow, signalling their departure.

Hermione managed to attach herself onto the boot moments before it departed and the group were thrown, twisting and turning, into the air and to their destination. She landed with a thud next to Ginny and found Fred helping her up as they began making their way to the campsite.

"Did you see that?" Ginny hissed at her.

"See what?"

"Cedric Diggory helped me up. He was holding my hand!" she giggled.

"Oh Ginny, aren't you just the luckiest girl alive?" Hermione laughed as she watched Ginny screw her face up.

"Shut up! You'd be saying exactly the same thing if it was you, he's just so-"

"-dreamy!" The Twins interrupted and laughed.

"Honestly Gin, we've heard you say it what three or-" Fred began.

"-four hundred times?" George finished and they ruffled her hair.

"I hate you two, you're so annoying!"

"Oh gee, we've never heard that one before!" George high fived his twin and ran off after Charlie to tell him all about Ginny's new crush.

Hermione was about to shout something after them but stopped when they came to the top of the hill and looked down onto the enormous campsite for the Quidditch World Cup. She stared in amazement at all of the tents, people and magic going on below her. It wasn't until Harry and Ron caught up with her that she realised she had stopped walking too.

"Pretty impressive isn't it?" Ron asked with a grin.

"I love magic!" she declared and started laughing as they ran to catch up with everyone else.

An hour and a half later they had managed to pitch the tent, which doubled as a large flat on the inside, and Mr Weasley was trying to gather them all so that they could leave. Hermione and Ginny had left their belongings in one of the bedrooms on a set of bunk beds and found Harry and Ron fighting over who had to take the bottom bunk. Harry was winning as he was stood on a hunched over Ron who was furiously trying to flip him from his back. The girls left them to it and waited for them with everyone else in the living room.

The walk to the stadium itself allowed them to leave the campsite and walk, in their thousands, through a large forest. When they finally made their way through they were greeted with bright white lights and the screaming of all of the fans who were already in the stadium.

"We need to go this way," Mr Weasley told them as he ushered them into a stairwell and pointed them upwards.

They climbed for what seemed like forever until the top was finally in sight. Hermione couldn't believe the whole event; it was so surreal and already so much better than any muggle event that she had been too, although the presence of magic probably allowed for anything to be far grander and more spectacular than any muggle event could even dream of.

"Do let us know if it starts to rain won't you?" A horribly familiar male voice called from below them.

Hermione looked down to see Lucius and Draco Malfoy a few floors below them staring back at them.

No one replied.

"Of course we have seats in the Minister's box, not really something you could dream of as a blood traitor like yourself, but how nice to see that you managed to take the pretender with you too." Lucius continued through gritted teeth as he gestured towards Hermione with his cane.

"Watch it Malfoy," Ron growled as he and Harry instinctively took a step in front of her and she was thankful that she was surrounded by all of her friends and they wouldn't let Malfoy get to her.

"Arthur, you might want to teach your children some manners, it'd just be awful if something should happen to any of them, wouldn't it?"

"Is that a threat Lucius?" Mr Weasley asked, a little annoyed.

"Why not at all! I'm merely concerned for the welfare of your family, do enjoy the match." He smirked at the entire Weasley family, all of whom were almost ready for a fight, and ushered Draco onwards to find their seats.

"Pricks." Fred and George muttered as they fell in behind Hermione and Ginny whilst Ron and Harry walked in front, she felt very much as if she was being guarded.

They finally reached the top of the stands and Hermione was left speechless. Below them were 100,000 people, all of whom were screaming and cheering as the Irish and Bulgarian teams made their way on to the pitch, with each team trying to outdo the other, earning enormous surges of cheers from the crowd.

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"..and then when Krum was diving and he pulled up at the last second and everyone was going mental and then when he caught the snitch, bloody hell it was great!" Ron finished, a little out of breath as they arrived back at the tent.

"Thanks dear Ronniekins-"

"-for recapping the match in its entirety for us-"

"If only-"

"-we'd been there ourselves!" The twins laughed as they ruffled his hair and he chased after them into the tent to get them back.

They were still in full celebratory mode when they heard the first explosions and screams. At first they had thought that the Irish were partying a little too hard but when Mr Weasley returned from checking what the commotion was they knew it was something more serious.

"You all need to leave now, Death Eaters are roaming the camp and it's not safe. Bill, Charlie and Percy with me, the rest of you run into the forest and stay hidden! Fred, George, you're in charge of the girls, now go and stick together!" He finished as he grabbed his eldest sons and headed into the night with them to face whatever horror the Death Eaters were bringing with them.

The remaining Weasleys, Harry and Hermione all stared at each other until they made sense of the situation.

"What're we waiting for?" George asked as he headed for the door.

"Let's go!" Fred finished and began herding them out of the ten after his twin.

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes once they were out of the safety of the tent. Everything in front of them was being set on fire and the Death Eaters were far closer than they had first thought, perhaps a few hundred metres away from where their tent was. They were shooting curses in all directions and anyone who got in their way was suffering the consequences. She felt a tugging on her hand and Fred was there, trying to coax her away from the terror but she was too terrified to move.

"Hermione? Mione come on we need to go love!" he started to drag her and she found herself following.

Crowds of people were moving in all different directions, no idea which way would be the safest, and she could see they were headed towards the forest they had walked through to get to the stadium. They were nearly there when a wizard burst through them, splitting them up and leaving Hermione completely separated as she was pushed further and further away from where the others had headed. Fred's voice was ringing out as he called after her but it was no use, she couldn't get back to him. She tried to turn around but she was knocked to the ground with others trampling on her as they tried to flee. She could do nothing but curl into a ball and hope that she would be ok until the crowds passed. If she could do that then she could go and find the others afterwards.

She repeated that plan to herself a hundred times over, not even noticing that she had started to cry or that she was in a lot of pain from being stepped on. She didn't notice when two men with masks and hooded cloaks approached and by the time they had reached her it was too late to run.

"All alone girly?" one of them hissed as she tried to scramble away from them.

"There's nowhere to run now." The other told her menacingly.

She was beyond terrified now, her brain working in overdrive to try to think of an escape. The two Death Eaters were talking amongst themselves, they had recognised her from stories about Harry and she knew that this was only making things worse.

"Please just let me go, I'm not even a threat to you!" she tried pleading with them.

They laughed in response, "We know you're not a threat girly, more of a blessing in disguise. You're Potter's mudblood friend aren't you?" one of them demanded.

"Please, don't hurt me!" she cried.

Another Death Eater approached them, his mask was gone and she recognised him instantly as Lucius Malfoy.

"I can handle this one gentlemen. Why don't we send a message to Potter and his friends from the Dark Lord?"

Hermione felt her stomach drop as she realised that they were going to hurt her. She thought that if she had stalled enough then maybe someone else would find her and she'd be saved. She hadn't factored in another Death Eater, let alone Lucius Malfoy, and now she couldn't stop herself from crying. They began laughing at her and agreeing that Harry should be taught a lesson for getting in the way.

"Mr Malfoy please just let me go, I promise I won't tell anyone that I saw you, I'll tell them all that I was knocked out until everything passed, just please let me go!"

"Mudbloods are so pathetic, look at yourself! Sitting there crying for mercy, you don't deserve a place in the Wizarding World and I'm going to teach you a lesson as well as sending a message to Potter." He spat the words at her and she braced herself, trying to prepare for whatever horror they were going to bestow upon her.

She couldn't recall when they started to hit her with curses or what they all were and before she knew it she could feel herself losing consciousness. Her head was spinning and her eyes were closing with the blinding white pain. She knew that she was bleeding and the last thing that she saw was Lucius Malfoy's face laughing as he delivered another curse.

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**Please leave me some feedback, I'd love to know what everyone thinks. I'm already writing the next couple of chapters too!**


	2. After the Storm

Hermione could hear voices around her but she couldn't respond. Her whole body was unresponsive to any of the movements she tried to make or the words that she tried to say. Instead she took to listening the conversations that her visitors were having around her. She very quickly learned that she'd been taken to St. Mungo's and that her condition was more serious than they had first thought. She thought that they were overreacting; she'd been hit with a few curses and she'd presumed she'd be awake and leaving the following day. Instead she was still there three days after she'd arrived, listening to the Weasleys fuss over her.

"I just don't see why they can't tell us anything!" Mrs Weasley was complaining for the fourth time.

"We're not immediate family, the nice Healer told us that this morning and Mr and Mrs Granger can't make it until a little later on. We'll find out soon dear." Mr Weasley told his wife.

Her own parents arrived a few hours later by her guess and they were distraught from what she could figure out. She heard her mother sobbing uncontrollably and her father trying to console her but nothing he said was putting her mother at ease.

"But what if she never wakes up? Our darling girl could be like this for goodness knows how long!"

"I assure you Mrs Granger; we've placed Hermione into an unconscious state so that her body can heal itself. It's a standard procedure for us to place our patients into magically engineered comas, the body responds better to treatment and in some cases the patient is able to leave as soon as they wake up!" the Healer was telling her parents.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to reach out to them and tell them that she was there and that she was doing alright but as much as she tried she couldn't tell them.

"There!" Fred's voice came from the opposite side of her parents, she had no idea that he had even been there and she couldn't help but wonder if Harry and Ron and the other Weasley's were also present.

"What is it?" Her mother asked.

"Her hand, it twitched, I swear it did!" Hermione could hear the excitement in his voice.

She tried as hard as she could to move her hand; it wasn't an easy feat as she was in a magical coma but she managed to move her finger again, much to everyone's delight.

"I'll prepare to take her out of the coma, it seems as if someone's ready to wake up!" the Healer said excitedly as she left the room.

She was awake and propped up in bed within two hours and all of her visitors were relieved, most of all her parents.

"We have to go home just now sweetheart," her father was telling her a few hours later, "but we'll be back in the morning but some of your friends are staying so you won't be alone."

"That's ok Dad, you need to go and rest." She smiled at him as he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Sleep tight sweetheart, we love you." Her mother told her as they left the room to head back home. Mr and Mrs Weasley accompanied them to take them home and then return to the Burrow themselves.

Once they'd all left she was left with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George.

"You really scared us Mione, we didn't know if you were going to be alright." Ron told her.

"When you were found in the campsite things looked bad Granger." George continued.

They spent the next hour filling her in on what had happened. They told her that when she had been found she was completely unconscious and cold but still had a pulse although when they'd finally gotten her to St Mungo's it was so weak that she was made the number one priority in the Spell Damage ward, where she was currently residing. Harry and Ron were giving her all the details, with George and Ginny pitching in every so often with the odd detail that had been missed. What really bothered her was Fred's silence. Usually he would have been pitching in with George and making light of the situation but he was deathly silent and was looking at his feet the entire time.

Everyone was getting ready to leave when she asked for a quick word with him. Once they were finally alone she noticed Fred get even edgier than he had been when everyone else was still with them.

"What's wrong Fred?" she asked.

"Nothing, you just gave us a scare." He tried to give her a smile.

"Then why wouldn't you look up from your feet and why were you so quiet?"

"Can we just leave it, we've all just had a long few days and I'm probably just sleep deprived."

"Sleep deprived? Why?"

He shrugged. "Look the important thing is that you're ok. I need to go, they're all waiting for me." He said apologetically.

"Fine. I need to get some rest anyway." She huffed and signalled for him to leave.

She couldn't understand what Fred was keeping from her; there was no reason for it whatsoever and it worried her far more than it angered her. She decided that she would get to the bottom of whatever secret he was keeping once she was back on her feet.

"We're going to move you into Madame Pomfrey's care at Hogwarts so you can return to school." Her healer told her the following morning as she was administering her medication.

"When am I going?"

"Professor Dumbledore hasn't confirmed the details but he's coming to see you this afternoon to talk with you, he asked me to let you know." She smiled.

"Thank you, I'll ask him when he gets here."

Hermione spent the morning considering what Dumbledore might have to talk to her about other than her move and finally settled on the rational idea that it was purely about getting her to Hogwarts without further injury. Sure enough, once two thirty hit there was a knock on the door to her room and Dumbledore entered, accompanied by her healer.

"Hermione, Professor Dumbledore's here to see you, are you well enough to talk to him?"

"I feel a lot better today, I should be fine." She told her and they waited for her to leave before they began.

Dumbledore made his way to the side of her bed, "May I?" he gestured to the seat and she nodded as he sat down. "Miss Granger I am sorry that I wasn't here sooner, there was other business I had to attend to."

"It's alright Professor, I didn't realise that you were coming until this morning."

"The Weasleys are coming in an hour or two to escort you back to the Burrow, it has some of the best protection available at the moment and it's where you'll be safest until you return to Hogwarts in a few days. Once you arrive Madame Pomfrey will oversee your care until you are fully healed. IS all of this alright with yourself?"

"Of course, I'd love to be going to the Burrow for the last few days before we go back to Hogwarts, and I know that Madame Pomfrey will be able to sort me out," she smiled at the headmaster.

"Excellent. On another, more serious note, I must ask you about your attack Miss Granger. Do you know who any of the men who attacked you were?"

"Lucius Malfoy. He was the only one I saw. He-he had his mask off and told the other to step back whilst he taught me a lesson and s-sent a message to Harry." She felt her eyes watering as she remembered all of the details.

"Take your time," Dumbledore told her.

"Th-they used the Cruciatus curse, it was so painful, I thought that they were never going to stop! There were some other curses too, ones that I didn't recognise. If only I had fought back, I might, I could have-"

"Miss Granger, there is absolutely nothing that you could have done differently to take on three Death Eaters alone successfully. When Mr Weasley saw you and raised the alarm he caught them off guard. He bought enough time for them to cease their attack and for him to shoot sparks from his wand and make quite the commotion and alerting the authorities to your location."

"R-Ron did all of that?" She had no idea that Ron had been so bold and so brave to save her, she would have to remember to thank him for that.

"It was not the youngest Mr Weasley that you owe your thanks to; perhaps you should look towards his elder brother. But alas Miss Granger, it is not my place to interfere. The Weasleys are on their way to collect you; I believe Arthur and Bill are coming to escort you to the Burrow. For the meantime I will look into the attack myself and our next meeting will be with Madame Pomfrey the day after you return to Hogwarts."

"Thank you Professor," she replied, "I'll see you once we're back at Hogwarts."

"I look forward to it Miss Granger," he smiled and excused himself.

She had half an hour with her healer to prepare to leave St Mungo's and it was proving a little more difficult than she had imagined. As well as her injuries she was also puzzled as to why Fred hadn't just told her that it was him that saved her. He should be happy, gloating even that he had saved her life and yet he was almost acting guilty. Did he really regret what he'd done that much?

Mr Weasley and Bill arrived shortly after she was finally up and dressed.

"You're looking well Hermione," Mr Weasley told her. "Molly's preparing an enormous dinner for your safe return and Harry's there too, the whole family really." He beamed as they helped her out of the room and down to the fireplace where they were able to Floo from.

The sensation of the Floo Network was a little more difficult for her to handle in her fragile state but after a few moments she and Bill arrived in the Weasley living room to huge applause and cheers and Harry and Ron took over the duties of supporting her as they all made their way through to the kitchen where Mrs Weasley was already serving enormous portions of dinner for everyone.

"Before we eat," Mr Weasley began, "I'd like to propose a toast to Hermione, who we are all very, very happy to see back around our table and well again, to Hermione!"

"Hermione!" Everyone cheered and clinked their glass together.

What she couldn't understand was Fred's unwillingness to join in on the festivities. He was hardly saying a word to anyone, still putting it down to lack of sleep from whatever he and George had been developing, but Hermione saw straight through it. He was keeping something a secret and she was determined to find out what it was and why he was so adamant to keep it to himself.

Until then she was fully embracing the few days of bliss at the Burrow before they returned to Hogwarts for another year and she would have to face more treatment for her injuries.

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**Thanks for all the great feedback so far, it's been so nice to hear after such a long break from writing :)**

_**Lx**_


	3. Return to Hogwarts

There was something oddly relaxing about the long journey on the Hogwarts Express and Hermione was welcoming it in her state. Her recovery was going to be a steady one, she had been told that by her healer in St Mungo's and she was finding that out very quickly as she tried to return to normal life. As far as she was aware, Madame Pomfrey was intending to give her an entire examination to identify the extent of her injuries and to make sure she was getting the right medical care for them but she was hoping that she would need very little attention from her and she could just recover with a little bit of time. Everyone had been enthusiastic to make sure that she was comfortable and that hadn't stopped on the train either. Ron kept asking if there was anything she needed or if she was in pain and Harry kept adjusting the cushion that was behind her to make sure that she didn't add back pain to her list of injuries. Once the train pulled into Hogsmeade she was even a little relieved as she knew she would be able to take a step back from the boys' attention, at least whilst the feast was happening.

The carriages pulled them up to the castle and soon she found herself at the Gryffindor table surrounded by her friends. Word of her attack hadn't quite got out yet but everyone stared when they saw Harry and Ron helping her into the hall and even more so when she winced in pain as she sat down. She didn't want to become a talking point of the school but she knew that very soon it was going to become unavoidable, especially if she was in and out of the hospital wing and she was being supported by Harry and Ron at every opportunity. She sat herself next to Fred and noticed him tense a little as she did so. She waited until the feast was underway and then leaned into him a little and gave him a small nudge.

"We need to talk." She told him.

"About what Granger?"

"You saving my life."

She didn't give him a chance to respond as she turned her attention to Ginny, who was sat across from her, and started talking rapidly to her about some new beauty potion that the younger witch had purchased in Diagon Alley the previous week.

Dumbledore announced that Quidditch would be suspended for the year in order for the Triwizard Tournament to take place. He explained the age restrictions, much to the annoyance of much of the school, and the dangers that each champion would be facing. If Hermione was being honest she was quite glad that she and her friends were too young, a quiet year was all that she could hope for after the drama of the Quidditch World Cup. She just wanted to watch from the side lines for once and know that they were all going home safe at the end of the year. The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students made dramatic entrances, with Durmstrang bringing Viktor Krum along with them.

As dinner began to wind down she leaned in towards Fred again, "Can we talk tonight?"

"Meet me outside the picture of the fruit bowl down the stairs towards the Hufflepuff dorms in fifteen minutes and we'll talk." He winked at her and followed George out of the Great Hall.

Harry helped her up from the table and she tried her best to walk alone out of the hall but needed a little help as they reached the staircase that would lead them up to Gryffindor Tower.

"I need to go and see Madame Pomfrey!" she said quickly, about halfway up the second set of stairs.

"Now?" Ron asked.

"I was supposed to go straight from dinner to let her know how I'm getting on, I'll be back later!" she lied and began to head in the right direction, just long enough for them to go far enough away so that they wouldn't see her struggling back down the stairs towards the portrait.

Fred was already waiting for her when she arrived and he gave her a small smile, he even looked like himself for the first time since before the World Cup in her opinion.

"Why here?" She asked.

Instead, he said nothing and reached up to the portrait, tickled the pear in the picture and a green door handle appeared.

"After you," he said, opening the door and motioning her inside.

She found herself inside the kitchens with tens, maybe even more than a hundred house elves running around cleaning up after the enormous feast that they had just had.

"How do you even know how to get in here!?" she asked, utterly amazed.

"That is a secret that shall remain between myself and George I'm afraid!" He laughed and then motioned for her to follow him over to a small table that sat at the side of the enormous kitchens.

"Why didn't you tell me that it was you?" she asked after they'd sat in silence for a few moments.

Fred thought about it for a minute before he replied.

"They told me that it was almost a miracle that they were able to revive you, that your pulse was so weak you shouldn't have been alive." He began. "I-I found you surrounded by three Death Eaters and Lucius Malfoy was leading them, watching you writhe in pain when he cast an Unforgiveable on you and laughing as they made you carve the word mudblood into your own arm. Eventually I managed to make myself draw attention to where I was, even if it meant they came and attacked me instead of you. B-but they could hear other people coming closer too, it was Dad and Bill, and they ran off, apparated most likely, and I ran over to you and that's how they found me. I was just holding you and crying because I was in such a state. I-I was pretty sure that you were dead, almost a hundred per cent positive. But Bill took over and was shouting about St Mungo's and they took you straight over. Charlie took over looking after me and took me over too to get me treated for shock. But the reason I didn't tell you that it was me was because I was so bloody scared of it all that I wanted to shut it out for a bit, I didn't want to talk about it." He finished and took a deep breath.

It was evident that he was nervous, she could see his hands shaking a little as he rested them on the table and then lifted one to run it through his hair.

"Thank you." Hermione said quietly.

"I wouldn't have done any of it differently. You're one of us and you always have been, we look out for our own," he smiled at her and she could see more of him coming back to the surface each time that he did so.

"Madame Pomfrey is checking me over tomorrow and Dumbledore's been looking into my attack but I just want some time for things to be normal."

"I know exactly what you mean. Looks like we won't get much of that this year Granger."

"Why's that?"

"The Triwizard Tournament? George and I are already devising ways that we can apply even though we're under the age restriction. Dumbledore's face when one of us gets chosen will be priceless!" He told her, trying to lighten the mood, he had meant it when he didn't particularly want to dwell on the subject.

"It won't work and you know that."

"Sure it will, trust me!" he helped her up from the table.

"I should get going; they'll wonder where I've got to."

"Yeah George is probably looking for me too."

"What if we're seen together?" she asked, a little worried as to what people might think.

"Don't worry, I'm meeting George on the fourth floor so our little secret is safe for now," he winked at her. "But Mione, if you ever need anything you know that I'm here, doesn't matter what it's for or what time of day, just let me know, ok?" he said more seriously and then hurried out of the kitchen before she had a chance to reply.

She walked back to Gryffindor Tower in a sort of daze, not entirely sure what to make of Fred or what he had said to her. It had nearly broken her heart to hear what had happened to her from him and she had no idea that she had been that close to death, she owed so much more to Fred than she had first thought.

She found Harry and Ron in their usual chairs by the fire when she arrived back in Gryffindor Tower. They asked her what Madame Pomfrey had said and she told them that she had to go back in the morning for her check-up before spending what felt like forever explaining to them that she felt absolutely fine. She had to admit that it made her happy to know that she had people like Harry and Ron who cared so much about her it was just a little overwhelming at some moments. She bid them goodnight and slowly made her way up to her dorm to try and get a good nights' sleep before she actually had to go and see Madame Pomfrey the following morning.

Of course as soon as she got into her dorm the other girls were there waiting to find out the story of what had happened to her and she couldn't help but give in, people were going to find out eventually.

"What happened to you? We noticed you were limping and that Harry and Ron were helping you to walk and we knew it had to be serious!" Lavender Brown started as soon as Hermione had gotten in the door.

"I-I was attacked at the Quidditch World Cup." She said quietly as she sat down on her bed.

"Oh my goodness! Do you know who it was?" Lavender asked again.

"What did they do?" Parvati Patil joined in.

Hermione sighed, she wasn't going to get the early night that she had hoped for but if she didn't set the record straight she knew that there would be all sorts of horrible rumours as to her strange injuries. However, it didn't mean that she had to give all the details. Instead, she spent the next half hour telling the girls the basic story without going into details. Afterwards they kept her up discussing their summers and then the topics gradually drifted to beauty products they'd picked up and boys that had "gotten good looking" over the summer. Hermione managed to excuse herself sometime after midnight and get into bed, pulling the curtains around her four poster bed and finally getting the much needed rest that she had wanted over two hours ago.

She awoke early the next morning and padded down to the common room, which was empty. She was scared as to what Madame Pomfrey was going to tell her, the healers in St Mungo's had told her very few details about her condition, only telling her that they had treated her for spell damage and taken care of her wounds, so to hear the facts from Madame Pomfrey on her own was going to be hard.

It was then that she remembered what Fred had said to her the night before; he was there for her if she ever needed anything. Without another seconds thought she crept up to the dormitory that she knew belonged to the sixth year boys. She saw Fred on the far side of the room and quietly made her way over to him.

"Fred!" she hissed as she shook him gently.

"Merlin Granger! What are you doing in here!?" he said loudly after he realised she was there.

"Looking for you."

"Well you've found me, what can I do for you?" he whispered back, carefully looking around to see if any of the other boys were awake.

"I need someone to come to my check-up with Madame Pomfrey, I'm too scared to go alone and you said last night if I needed anything to come to you, but if you don't want to then it's alright…" she trailed off as she realised that she was rambling.

"I'll get dressed and meet you in the common room." He grinned at her.

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**Thanks everyone for the feedback, please keep letting me know what you think!**

**_L x_  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Recovery Begins

Hermione and Fred made their way down to the Hospital Wing for Hermione's first check-up with Madame Pomfrey. They walked down in silence, Hermione was far too nervous to start chatting but she had been surprised at how willing Fred had been to go with her, despite what he had said to her the night before.

"You ready?" he asked as they reached the Hospital Wing.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied and pushed the door open to get in.

Madame Pomfrey was just coming out of her small office as they entered the room and she stopped as she noticed them.

"Ah, Miss Granger you're right on time! If you'd follow me up to the end cubicle we'll get you settled for your examination. Mr Weasley what can I do for you?" she asked, turning her attention to Fred.

"I'm here with Hermione, she asked me to come."

"Right. Well don't get in my way. You can sit in on the examination if Miss Granger consents to it. Miss Granger?"

"I'd like him to be there." Hermione replied quietly, a little nervous to see her injuries for the first time since the attack.

"Follow me then." Madame Pomfrey told her and directed her to the last cubicle and gave her a gown to put on in place of her clothes.

Fred waited outside until she had changed and then returned with Madame Pomfrey once Hermione was ready. She winced a little as the bandages were taken off of her arm and she couldn't believe the mess that her arm was in. The word "mudblood" was carved into her forearm and the cuts were still open and bloody. She felt tears forming in her eyes at the sight of them and found herself reaching for Fred's hand for comfort.

"Professor Dumbledore would like to see your injuries to see what the next step is for your recovery, are you ok with that?" Madame Pomfrey asked after she had inspected them for herself.

"He's looking into my attack so he needs to see the damage that they did." She told the older woman who nodded and went to fetch the headmaster.

"You're sure you're ok with him coming to see you like this?" Fred asked her.

"My injuries are evidence, I need to do this."

Fred nodded and gave her hand a small squeeze before Madame Pomfrey arrived with Professor Dumbledore in tow.

"I trust you are well Miss Granger?" he asked as he stood at the end of her bed.

"As well as I can be Professor," she smiled in return.

"Good. Shall we proceed?"

They spent the next half hour assessing all of her injuries, from the rope marks across her stomach to the deep bruising across her left thigh. The worst, however, had to be the horrific word that was carved into her arm. It had been carved in with dark magic, although she had physically been doing it herself, which meant that it was more difficult to treat than a normal open wound. Instead, Professor Snape had been summoned to recommend and produce the correct potion for her to take to aid the healing.

"I haven't dealt with dark magic injuries for quite some time but that shouldn't make it any more difficult to treat. Professor Dumbledore?" Madame Pomfrey turned to the older wizard for his input.

"I believe that this may be a little more difficult to treat as it is due to the dark magic that created it. I think that the wounds will have to be cleansed of the dark magic first before it can heal." He concluded.

"What does that involve?" Hermione asked, almost too scared to hear the answer.

"We will need to treat the wound for dark magic by cleansing it, which is a rather straightforward process. Firstly we will need to have Professor Snape brew a cleansing potion to get rid of any magic that make have spread into the rest of your body. Once we're satisfied that the infection of dark magic is contained to your arm we will have to extract it and I do warn you that this can be a rather painful process. We will need to do it in several sessions and they will have to be done overnight here in the hospital wing. It should only take a few weeks should the treatment go well." Professor Dumbledore finished and waited to hear what she had to say.

In all honesty she was quite scared but she knew that it had to be done. So instead of complaining about how scared she truly was she swallowed most of her fear and told them that she was ready to begin treatment as soon as possible. Professor Snape promised that the potion would be waiting for her after breakfast tomorrow morning and left in a hurry to get back to the dungeons. Madame Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore bid her a good day, saying that they would return again tomorrow morning to begin her treatment, and she was left alone with Fred to get ready for a day of classes and normality.

"Are you alright?" Fred asked as he turned around to let her dress herself.

"I-I don't know." She sighed. "I'm so scared about all of this and I'm going to have to tell Harry and Ron otherwise they'll ask where I'm going when I come to get treated and it's probably going t hurt so much…" she had started crying without realising and instantly Fred was there, wrapping his arms around her and leaning her into his chest.

"It's going to be alright Mione, I promise. I'll even come with you if you want me to, only if it's not stepping a mark or you'd rather Harry and Ron were here instead. I made a promise though." He grinned at her as she pulled back to look at him.

"Thank you Fred, for everything. I really owe you so much and I just don't even know where to start!"

"You could start by stopping trying to shut us down when we're trialling new products?" he asked hopefully.

"If I don't see it then I can't stop it…." She trailed off, letting him figure out her meaning.

"Brilliant! How about some breakfast? It should have only just started a while ago."

"I'll see you down there, I just need a second to pull myself together," she gave him a small smile before he left her to it.

She made her way down to the Great Hall shortly after Fred, mainly so she didn't draw attention to them arriving alone but, she really had needed to pull herself together after hearing exactly what her recovery was going to entail. She found Harry and Ron about half way down the table, fully engrossed in a conversation about who would be the Hogwarts Triwizard Champion.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted, his mouth full of toast as he did so.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked a little quieter once they had moved to let her sit in between them.

"Fine I think. I'm starting treatment tomorrow, the sooner the better I was thinking."

"What's going to happen?"

"I'll tell you later, too many people to hear things here." She nodded around to the other students who were eating their breakfast.

Although she had no secrets to keep from the world, she had no desire for the entire Hogwarts student body to know the ins and outs of the treatment she was going to receive for her horrific injuries. Her fingers brushed against the fresh bandaging that covered her cuts on her arm and she flinched a little at the pain, she would be glad for this to be over so that she could move on from the attack.

Their first class of the day was Defence Against the Dark Arts and Hermione had never been so horrified during a lesson as she had been through Professor Moody's first class. He had shown them all three of the Unforgiveable curses and she found herself getting increasingly uncomfortable as the class progressed. He began with the Imperius curse, showing them the amusement first and then the more sinister side, that he could make the spider he held kill itself or do something particularly evil. When he turned to the Criciatus curse she felt her skin crawl as memories of her attack came flooding back to her. She could see Lucius Malfoy standing above her, casting the very same spell and she could hear her own screams of pain echoing in her ears. Neville was looking considerably uncomfortable at the front of the class as Professor Moody tortured the creature in front of his eyes. When Hermione could no longer take it she stood and screamed at him to stop.

"Stop it! Can't you see that he's upset!" she pointed towards Neville, who was shaking almost as much as she was. "There's a reason that these are illegal!" she shouted, hot tears now streaming down her face. Instead of sitting back in her seat she grabbed her bag and her books and left the class, her chest tight from fear. It wasn't until she rounded the corner from the classroom that she stopped, her breathing heavy as she realised she was having a panic attack. Harry came running down the corridor a few minutes later and nearly crashed into her.

"Moody sent me to find you and take you to see McGonagall."

"What!?" she managed to get out between hard laboured breaths.

"I'm just doing as he asked, come on." Harry led her down the corridor and towards the staircases.

They eventually made it to Professor McGonagall's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" They heard her shout at them.

They entered and she gestured for them to sit down.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" she asked them with a smile.

Harry handed over a crumpled piece of parchment that he had been carrying since he left class.

"Miss Granger is this true? Did you shout at Professor Moody?"

"Yes Professor." Hermione nodded. She was glad that she could now breathe normally after Harry had calmed her on the way to see their head of house.

"Would you care to explain yourself?" the older witch asked sternly.

"He was using Unforgiveable curses in the classroom in front of us. He-he was torturing the poor creature right in front of us, there's a reason that they're illegal! Neville was shaking because he was so upset!" Hermione finished, a little breathless again.

"Is this true?" she asked Harry.

"Yes Professor. But Neville was really distraught and from what I could see so was Hermione, which is completely understandable given what happened a few weeks ago." Harry finished.

"I am completely aware of Miss Granger's circumstances Mr Potter. I wanted you to clarify that Professor Moody was using those kind of spells in a classroom!" Professor McGonagall said, a little irate with Harry.

"Sorry Professor." He mumbled.

"Miss Granger are you alright?"

"Yes Professor. I really don't know what came over me." She explained.

"There's absolutely no need to explain yourself. I'm intending to go straight to Professor Dumbledore and ask him to have a word with Professor Moody. It is simply unacceptable that he performed these curses at all, let alone in front of school children who have been personally affected by it. Potter, take Miss Granger to the Gryffindor common room until your next class to have a breather. I'm going to see Professor Dumbledore now."

"Yes Professor," Harry replied and stood from his seat.

"Oh and Miss Granger? I was told that you'll be starting your course of treatment tomorrow. If you need any help with your studies or some time to recover come and talk to me, I'll sort it out for you with your other Professors."

"Thank you Professor, I'm hoping that won't be necessary though."

"Nonetheless, keep me updated with how you're getting on." Professor McGonagall smiled before shooing them out of her office so that she could go and deal with the incident herself.

Harry and Hermione returned to the common room and still had some time before their next class.

"So how was your chat with Madame Pomfrey this morning?" Harry asked her once they had sat down.

"It went well. She and Dumbledore and Snape are all helping with my treatment and it hopefully shouldn't take more than a few weeks. It was just a lot to take in this morning."

"You didn't have to go yourself you know." Harry told her.

"I didn't I-" she stopped herself as she realised what she had said.

"Who went with you?"

"Fred did." She sighed.

"Anything that you'd like to share there?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"No! I don't think so anyway!" she laughed and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "He told me he'd be there if I ever needed anything and I was going to go myself but when I got to the common room I was so scared that I couldn't go down myself. What he said went through my head and I just went and asked him. But I owe him for saving my life; I just haven't figured it all out yet."

"I get it. You know he didn't leave your side whilst you were unconscious. At one point I walked in and he was holding your hand. I think there's more to this than you being one of us. At least from Fred's point of view."

"What are you trying to say Harry?"

"I'm not saying anything, but maybe you should see if there's anything that Fred should be saying." He grinned at her.

Hermione burst out laughing and playfully hit him again. "Harry Potter the matchmaker!" she laughed and completely forgot about the morning's events, at least for a short period of time.

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**I'm having so much fun writing this, please let me know what you think! I can't wait for things to be moved along a little more with Hermione and Fred in the next chapters!**

_**L x**_


	5. Chapter 5: A Close Friendship

The next morning Hermione woke up and quickly sped up to Fred's dorm to get him to go with her to the Hospital Wing, she was far more scared of treatment than she had let on. They arrived shortly afterwards and found the three members of staff waiting for them. Madame Pomfrey directed her to the same bed that she had been in the day before and passed over to Professor Snape.

"Miss Granger I have concocted the cleansing potion. I must warn you that you may feel particularly nauseous during the cleansing period. It will take effect shortly after consumption and should take no more than twenty four hours for the process to complete."

"Tomorrow evening we will begin extracting the dark magic. We will bind the wound overnight with a purity ointment and a spell that will expel the dark magic from your body. I am sorry to inform you that it will be extremely painful – dark magic that has been cast upon a person does not like to be removed, which is why it is more difficult to treat than a normal wound." Professor Dumbledore told her.

His words stuck with her for the rest of the day as she felt so sick that she couldn't keep any food down. The boys were worried about her even though she had repeatedly told them that it was just the potion making her sick. Fred watched from afar, too scared of Ron's protective wrath if he interfered, but managed to catch her for a quiet moment in the early hours of the evening when she was on her way to drop her things off before dinner.

"How you feeling?" he asked her.

"Like hell." She said with a small laugh.

"Are you going to be ok tomorrow night? I can come with you if you want, I don't want you to think that you have to do any of this on your own. I know Harry and Ron are there too but my little brother isn't always the most…tactful when he's trying to be supportive."

"Fred I'd love it if you would come with me," she smiled.

"I'll meet you down there tomorrow night, stay safe love!"

"Thanks Freddie!"

"Freddie? Are we onto nicknames now Granger?" he winked at her.

"How about you tell me? A little birdie told me that you were holding my hand all the time in St Mungo's," she grinned at him and left as quickly as she could before he could retaliate.

She loved winding Fred up and she loved spending time with him even more. She had always secretly admired the Twins' brilliance, although she would never have admitted it otherwise they would have never let her forget it, but she always had hope that they would be successful, they certainly put in the effort. Sometimes when she had given them into trouble she would see the familiar sparkle of defiance in Fred's eye where she could practically see his braining frantically trying to think of an alternative for them to work with. But little did anyone know that she was their go to girl for their bigger problems, mainly the ones which could land them in serious trouble. She had thwarted their more ridiculous plans, turning one of the Slytherin boys invisible for a day was her personal favourite, and turned them into slightly less terrifying ideas. You could say that she had always had a special, and mostly unseen, relationship with the Twins.

But now that Fred had begun to become an integral part of her recovery – had she really just admitted to that!? – she had to face some truth at the same time: a (not so) small part of her was practically longing for Fred Weasley.

By the time that she had reached the Great Hall for dinner her mind was racing once again. It didn't help that she blushed a furious shade of fuchsia when Fred caught her eye and gave her a wink across the table or when Harry nudged her afterwards and asked her how things were going on "the Fred front".

"There's nothing to that Harry!" she scolded him, much to his amusement.

"Hermione, you can keep telling yourself that but I know as well as you do that there's something between you and Fred."

She wouldn't listen to anymore of Harry's ridiculous assumptions. Yes, Hermione had a little bit of a crush on Fred but he was just helping her out through her treatment, he treated her like a little sister, much like he would with Ginny, and yet there was some part of her was left wondering what if. She would have continued her train of thought in regards to Fred if her stomach hadn't lurched and forced her to run to the nearest girls' bathroom.

The following evening she made her way down to the Hospital Wing, absolutely terrified at the prospect of her treatment. Dumbledore had promised a lot of pain and she knew that she would probably be up all night because of it but then she remembered that Fred would be there with her and the night ahead of her seemed almost bearable.

She found Fred leaning against the wall outside of the Hospital Wing and waved when he looked up in her direction. Instead of the usual quick, witty greeting he pulled her into a hug.

"I know all of this is probably going to send you to hell and back so I came prepared." He told her as he pulled a large bar of Honeydukes' chocolate and grinned at her.

"Let's get this over with shall we?" she sighed and pushed open the door.

Again, Professor Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey were waiting for them.

"Miss Granger, shall we proceed?" he asked her once she was settled on the bed in the gown that Madame Pomfrey had provided for her.

She nodded and tried to brace herself for the pain that she knew was coming. The ointment was soaked into the bandages and they were they wrapped around the infected wound on her arm, which left her with a strange cold, tingling sensation where they touched her skin. A final layer of dry bandage was wrapped over the top to hold it in place and then Professor Dumbledore stepped forwards and began to murmur the incantation very quietly.

She felt as if the bandages were tightening around her arm and suddenly there was white hot pain all across the areas that the bandages covered. She screamed out in pain and gritted her teeth; it was an almost unbearable sensation that had tears forming in her eyes. She reached out for Fred's hand and gripped onto it as if it was her only lifeline and was instantly comforted when she felt him squeeze back.

Dumbledore finished the incantation and then bid her a goodnight before promptly leaving her to her pain and misery. She very quickly got used to the pain and after a couple of hours she had stopped screaming and Fred had moved to sit on her bed next to her to try and keep her calm.

Madame Pomfrey returned around 1am with a sleeping draught to "drown out the din and give us all some peace and quiet!" before huffing back to her own quarters for the night.

"Fred? Can you stay with me? Please?" she whispered into the darkness.

"I'll be here as long as you need me love." He kissed the top of her head and listened to her whimper in pain before the sleeping draught took hold of her.

They continued like that for the next two weeks. They would attend of their classes and social activities as normal and then at 10pm every night they separately made their ways to the Hospital Wing where Hermione would endure another night or torturous pain and Fred would do his best to soothe her. Sometimes she would take a book with her to try and distract herself but the pain would be too much and Fred would take over, reading to her whilst she curled up and tried to listen, and other times they would sit and talk for hours until the pain was dull enough for her to get to sleep. Neither of them realised it but their routine trip to the Hospital Wing had drawn them far closer together than either of them had intended.

Fred had wanted to fix her, to repair the damage that he felt he could have stopped happening in the first place, but he'd grown to care for her more than he could imagine. There were moments when she would wince in pain and all he would want to do was to pull her close and tell her that everything was going to be ok. Instead he would hold her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze whilst she tried her best not to scream. By the time that she was reaching the end of her treatment Fred knew that it meant the end of their private evenings and it made him far sadder than he thought it would. It was at that moment that he could practically see the light bulb appear above his head as he realised that Hermione Granger was no longer just his friend, he actually liked her.

Hermione, meanwhile, was glad to see the end of her long nights in the hospital wing. For her it meant that she didn't have to endure the pain anymore and that she would finally be able to move on from her attack, despite the scarring it had left and the fact that her attackers were still out there. Dumbledore had assured her that he had eyes on those suspected as Death Eaters and that whilst at Hogwarts she was very safe. His words put her at ease and she allowed herself to fell at home at Hogwarts once again.

"How do you feel?" Fred asked on the morning that the treatment ended.

"I feel…better" she said, a little wearily.

"What's wrong?"

"I just- it's nothing actually. I'm just worried about Harry and the Triwizard Tournament. Everyone, Ron included, seems to have it out for him after his name got pulled out the other night and I just want him to be safe, that's all." She smiled a little as he helped her out of the Hospital Wing.

"He'll be alright, he's Harry Potter," Fred grinned at her and she felt her stomach flutter a little with butterflies.

"I hope so." She added.

They stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Fred made his excuses and headed for breakfast. Hermione could have hit herself for thinking that what she had with Fred was anything more than a friendship. He treated her like a sister for goodness sake! She made her own way to breakfast and found Harry sitting alone at Gryffindor table.

"I'm finally finished treatment!" she said excitedly as she sat down.

"That's great Hermione!" Harry replied, a little half-heartedly.

"What's up?"

"It's not personal, it just seems like everyone hates me. Not to mention Ron's adamant that I didn't tell him how to get around the age line – as if I wanted to be in this at all!" he said, frustrated.

"Ron's a bit of an idiot sometimes, we both know that. It'll be ok Harry." She smiled at him.

The rest of her day passed without any complaint. She was the barrier between Harry and Ron, with the latter refusing to even acknowledge the other's presence and neither of them wanting to say a nice word to the other. Instead most of her day was spent in silence and it gave her time to clear her head.

By the time she went back to the Great Hall for dinner at the end of the day she was almost exhausted. Fred and George came and sat either side of her, their mischievous grins plastered across their faces.

"Hey Granger-" George started.

"-Want to see something exciting?" Fred asked.

"I don't know, what is it?"

"We can't give away the surprise!"

"But meet us at Hagrid's hut at 9-"

"-and bring Harry, I have a feeling he'll want to see this!"

And before she could tell them that she didn't want to know, they had already gone and left her with no choice but to turn up with Harry in tow.


	6. Chapter 6: A Few Firsts

It was 9pm and Hermione and Harry were shivering as they made their way to Hagrid's hut. They saw two familiar identical redheads as they approached along with Hagrid and another redhead that Hermione recognised as Charlie Weasley once they were closer.

"Alright ladies?" Fred called as they got close enough to greet them.

"I shouldn't be doing this!" Hagrid was muttering from behind them.

"What is the big exciting thing then?" Hermione asked pointedly after a few moments.

"I thought you'd never ask Granger!" George laughed.

"If you would follow our dear _dragon_ handler brother, we'll begin the amazing adventure!" Fred grinned and winked at Hermione, before taking her by the hand and leading her after Hagrid and his older brother into the forest.

They walked for a good half hour before they began to hear a sort of roaring noise in the distance.

"Fred!" she hissed. "What is it?"

"That, Granger, is the sound of four very angsty and very real dragons."

She gripped his hand a little bit tighter as they saw light up ahead and Charlie stopped them.

"I'm not even supposed to be doing this, if you weren't my little brother's friends then you wouldn't even be here. You can't get too close, the other handlers don't strictly know that you'll be here. I told them I was going to see my younger siblings in the castle because I don't see you all that often. I'll lead you over to a safe spot about three hundred metres back and then you've got about ten minutes whilst I take Hagrid in with me so we can talk to him about the dragons time at Hogwarts. After that you _have_ to leave because the other handlers won't be too far behind you. Got it?" he finished.

"Sir, yes sir!" Fred and George replied together, saluting him as they did so.

"Let's go then." Charlie led them to the safe spot, about three hundred metres away as promised, and then led Hagrid in with him.

They all watched in awe as they were almost face to face with four enormous, and very agitated dragons.

"It's so beautiful!" Hermione gushed as she took in their gorgeous colours and the amazement of the four beasts.

"It is, isn't it." Fred said, looking a totally different direction.

She looked up at him and caught her staring back down at her as he said it.

"Oh shut up! That was far too predictable!" she laughed and punched him playfully on the shoulder.

Before she knew it they had retreated behind Harry and George and were almost play fighting in the near darkness, the only light coming from the area of the dragons in front of them. She lost sight of Fred in the darkness and instantly found herself having flashbacks of the darkness on the night of her attack.

"Fred can you come back? I'm really scared. It isn't funny anymore!" she said a little louder, tears welling in her eyes as she did so.

Fred appeared a moment later in the darkness and wrapped his arms around her to pull her close.

"I'm sorry Mione," he murmured into her hair.

"It's ok," she told him, her breathing returning to normal now, "It just brought back memories…the world cup…it was stupid really." She hung her head, a little too embarrassed to look at Fred.

"Don't be daft, it wasn't stupid at all." He lifted her head to look at him before he leaned in and pressed a small kiss to her lips.

It took her completely by surprise but she didn't complain. If anything she had wanted it more than she had first realised.

"Merlin, I've wanted to do that for ages!" Fred laughed.

There was a cough behind them as they saw George and Harry standing with knowing looks on their faces. Hermione felt her cheeks redden whilst Fred took it in full swing.

"Can't even get one bloody second of privacy around here!" he laughed again before George swooped in to grill his twin on what they had just witnessed.

Harry on the other hand walked silently with Hermione until she mentioned it first.

"Don't tell Ron whatever you do. Not yet anyway. I need to figure this one out."

"My lips are sealed," he promised before continuing to wind her up all the way back onto the castle grounds. She groaned as he took every opportunity to pass a comment but knew he was taking the chance before he had to stay true to his word of keeping quiet in front of Ron.

They finally reached the castle and snuck back upstairs. As they reached the common room Harry sat down in their usual chairs and turned to face Hermione.

"Mione, how do I face a dragon?" he asked.

"I haven't figured that one out yet. We have three days. Surely in that time we can figure something out."

"I really hope that you're right." He replied and bid her goodnight, saying that he was far too worried to be good company.

She sat herself down in the comfiest of the armchairs near the fire and thought about the last few weeks. She and Fred had gotten so much closer whilst she had received treatment and he had essentially ben her rock through her entire ordeal. Not to mention the fact that she had possibly been harbouring a small crush for him the entire time anyway…

She scolded herself for abandoning her rational thinking and decided that bed really was the only sensible option for her at that moment.

Harry had gone down early to the newly set up arena to prepare with the other champions. Hermione was sat at breakfast with Ron, Ginny and the Twins, trying to get Ron excited about more than the prospect of Harry getting a good bashing by a dragon.

"Just because you're mad at him Ronald does not mean that you want him to get seriously injured!" she scolded him.

"Not seriously injured, maybe just shaken up a bit so he sees what a prat he's been."

"Oh yeah-"

"-good idea Ronniekins."

"Maybe losing an arm-"

"-or a leg-"

"-will make him see that he wronged you!" the Twins laughed and grabbed the last few slices of toast on the table, before Fred winked at her and they set about trying to collect bets from the other students.

"They've already made a fortune doing that you know." Ginny said once Ron had left in a huff.

"I'm not surprised." Hermione sighed. "Ginny. Can I ask for your advice on something?" She asked her best friend, a little nervous on how to approach the subject of Fred with her.

"If it's about Fred then I already know," she giggled.

"I-wha?" Hermione was taken aback.

"Well, for one thing, Fred's been asking me and George about it for the last week, and two I know that you've been spending an enormous amount of time together." She shrugged, "Don't worry, I'm alright with you smooching my big brother," she was laughing again.

Hermione was now a little embarrassed.

"Ginny, it wasn't like that, honestly!"

"I know that, I'm just winding you up. He really does care about you though. He's been worried sick about you ever since he found you at the World Cup, he thought we were going to lose you, in some way or another."

"I care about him too, I just haven't figured this out and then Harry's about to face a dragon and it's just all a little too much right now. I was planning to talk to him after the task tonight."

"That sounds like a good idea, I think the two of you should figure this out."

"This isn't too weird for you?"

"Not really, just don't give me any gross details!" Ginny laughed and the girls made their way down to the stadium to watch Harry compete in the first Triwizard Task.

They found the Twins already settled in the back row of one of the stands and they slipped between them, with Fred on Hermione's left and Ginny on her right. They waited for the stadium to fill and the champions to arrive but Hermione was far too nervous. Instead she slipped out of the stands and found the champions tent. She hissed from the other side of the fabric and was delighted to discover that it was Harry who had heard her.

"How are you feeling?" she whispered.

"I don't know, nervous?" Harry replied. He wasn't nearly as well prepared as he could have been.

Hermione slipped through the flaps of the tent and hugged Harry tightly.

"Remember what we discussed. Do exactly what you practiced and it should be fine. I know that you can do this," she smiled.

She was going to continue but Professor Dumbledore arrived in the tent and scolded her for being there. Hermione made her way back to the stands and found Fred and George hyping everyone up and Ginny laughing at them.

"Harry's really nervous by the way," she told Ron who had joined them.

"Probably normal. Bloke's about to face a bloody dragon." He said, trying his best not to seem too concerned.

She sighed and squeezed back in between Fred and Ginny.

"How is he?" Ginny asked.

"He's alright. He says he's just nervous but I think he's quite scared too. I know I would be if I were him."

Ginny nodded but didn't reply, Hermione could tell that she was concerned for Harry. After all, Ginny had fancied him for years now. She was going to say something comforting to Ginny but the first cannon sounded and the task had begun.

They watched in anticipation as the first three champions successfully retrieved their golden eggs from the dragon nests and were on edge as Harry appeared into the arena, the Hungarian Horntail already looking furious.

Before long the dragon had noticed Harry and began trying to attack. Hermione could see that Harry was panicking, his mind racing for what he was supposed to do and as he ran from the dragon's hefty tail crashing down next to him Hermione couldn't watch him any longer.

"YOUR WAND HARRY! USE YOUR WAND!" she screamed at him as the first of the dragon's flames narrowly missed him.

She felt relieved as she heard Harry shout for his broom and it appeared a few minutes afterwards. She knew that harry had a real chance of getting his egg now, rather than blindly stumbling around the arena.

Suddenly Harry was in the air and the dragon was too. She had come free from her chains and Harry had no option but to fly out of the arena. The entire crowd turned to watch Harry flying back towards the castle, dragon in tow, and all that they could do was hope that he would make it back before the dragon could catch him.

"Is he going to be alright?" Ginny asked, extremely worried.

"I hope so." Hermione added quietly, finding Fred's hand and giving it a small squeeze and was relieved when he squeezed back.

"He'll be alright." George said.

"Yeah!" Fred carried on, "If You-Know-Who can't get him than neither can a dragon!" he shouted, much to the crowd's delight.

After ten minutes, the crowd was beginning to lose faith, it was looking more and more likely that Harry had been knocked off of his broom or that the dragon had gotten him. Ron was even getting anxious, pacing in the small space that they were in and looking out over the stadium every few seconds.

Suddenly Harry appeared in the distance at high speed and heading back towards the arena. Everyone burst into applause and screams of joy as he zipped over their heads and scooped up his golden egg, the dragon nowhere in sight. The crowd roared as he landed, rather gracefully, at the entrance he had come out of at the beginning of the task and caught the eye of his friends at the back, giving them a cheeky grin of disbelief before disappearing in the same way that the other champions had at the end of their turn.

It wasn't until several hours later, in the evening that Harry returned to the newly decorated Gryffindor Tower common room to an enormous roar of congratulations and too many people stopping him for Hermione to get anywhere near him. The Twins hoisted him onto their shoulders and told everyone he was going to open his egg to get his clue, much to their delight. The Twins promptly dropped him when it turned out to be ear splitting screeches but everyone was still excited at his prize.

"That was bloody horrible!" Ron's voice came from the back of the crowd and Harry grinned at him before the two boys reunited with a hug.

Hermione rolled her eyes at them and found Fred sneaking up behind her.

"A little birdy, or rather sister, told me that you wanted a word?" he asked.

"Over here," she said, gesturing to an area behind the entire crowd of Gryffindors.

"Can I start?" he asked her.

Hermione nodded and waited to hear what he had to say.

"About what happened in the Forbidden Forest the other day, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have just gone ahead and done it and it wasn't the right time or anything! But I really don't want either of us to walk away from whatever it is that we have because we've gotten so close and I don't want to lose this. Or you for that matter." He finished and looked down at his feet, his ears turning red and giving away his embarrassment.

"I don't intend to let that happen. Let's see how this goes shall we?" she asked and watched Fred grin and nod at her before he pulled her into a massive bear hug.

"I do believe we have a party to be celebrating in, shall we?"

"I need to go and find Harry and Ron, I'll find you later on," Hermione smiled at him and began pushing through the crowds to find her best friends.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think of this, things are starting to develop between Hermione and Fred and if anyone has any feedback at all it would be much appreciated! Thanks to all who are still here reading too!  
**_**L x**_


	7. Chapter 7: The Yule Ball

In the days following the first Triwizard Task the Yule Ball was announced. Professor McGonagall chose to announce it to Gryffindor House by introducing them to traditional dancing at the same time, to much of the House's annoyance, but within the hour she had them all "prancing" around the large classroom and most of them were enjoying themselves far more than they had anticipated. Ron had slumped over to Hermione and asked her to be his partner whilst Fred had sauntered over to Angelina Johnson and gotten her to dance with him, which made Hermione a little uneasy.

As the class continued to learn the required steps, Fred and Hermione kept catching each other's eyes, both of them aware that they should have just danced together.

It wasn't until they were in the common room a few days later that the subject of dates for the ball came up. The boys, Hermione and Ginny were sat around the fire and Ron was going on about how he would never get a date at the rate he was going and that there was more chance of Filch turning up with a date than him.

"Don't worry Ronniekins-"

"-you should hurry up though, before all the good ones are gone!" Fred laughed and grinned at his brother.

"Oh right so if you're so prepared, who are you going with?" Ron asked, putting him on the spot.

Fred glanced at Hermione and she prepared herself for him to ask her, only for her to completely sink as he shouted an invitation across the common room at Angelina Johnson, who said yes instantly.

He quickly shot an apologetic glance at her but she completely ignored it, she could hardly believe that he had done that when they had the perfect opportunity to acknowledge that they had something together. Instead he had backed out and she felt as if someone had winded her. She could already feel the tears in her eyes and she jumped from her seat, much to everyone's curiosity.

"There's a book in the library that I've wanted for so long, and it got returned last night, I need to go and get it!" she told them.

Of course everyone but Ron knew that she was lying but none of them said anything to her as she practically ran from Gryffindor Tower. She didn't stop until she reached the floor that the library was situated on and she crashed head first, into Viktor Krum.

"I'm so sorry!" she said as he helped her to get up from the ground.

"It is ok Miss. I was actually just inside there looking for you." He gestured towards the library.

"Looking for me?" she asked, a little confused.

"Yes. I wanted to find you a few days ago but I could not find you alone. I remembered that you liked to study so I came to look for you here."

"Well what can I do for you?" she asked, wondering if he needed any help with some of the classes he was taking at Hogwarts.

"I would like to request the pleasure of you as my date for the Yule Ball." He said, looking rather proud of himself once he had finished.

Hermione thought of Fred for a moment and how he would feel if she didn't go with him before she remembered that the entire reason that she was standing where she was in the first place was because he had asked someone else to go with him.

"I would love to go with you Viktor."

"I look forward to it Hermowninny." He said and placed a kiss on her cheek to say goodbye. It was enough for her to forgive his mispronunciation of her name and for her to actually want to return to Gryffindor Tower.

When she did she went straight to her dorm, not wanting to contemplate whatever excuse Fred might give her if managed to catch her alone. Instead Ginny followed her and invited her to her dorm.

"My brothers are complete idiots you know."

"Which ones?"

"All of them on some level!" Ginny laughed and made space on her bed for her best friend to sit down. "He just panicked you know. He said it himself once Ron went to the toilet. I think he's a bit scared of what Ron might do if you two are definitely a thing or what it means. Speak to him, he'll ditch Angelina and ask you, problem solved."

"I…actually have a date as it turns out." Hermione said a little sheepishly.

"What!? When did this happen?"

"When I ran downstairs I crashed into Viktor Krum who was actually looking for me to ask me to the ball and I was a bit mad at Fred so I said yes…."

"This is brilliant! You have to go downstairs right now and tell him!"

"I'd rather keep this between us right now if you don't mind. I don't want to make a big deal out of it. Besides, I'd rather Fred was feeling guilty for a little bit longer considering he barely glanced my way before asking Angelina." Hermione finished, rather pleased with her idea.

"His face is going to be priceless at the ball!"

"I'm counting on it!"

The girls continued giggling into the early hours of the morning before they finally fell asleep in Ginny's dorm.

When Christmas morning finally came around the boys were still convinced that Hermione was going to be attending the ball alone.

"Are you sure you still want to go?" Ron was asking her as they sat in the common room opening presents. "I mean, it's a bit sad for a girl to be going alone Mione. If you had just said, one of us would have gone with you!"

The rest of their friends were looking on as Hermione visibly tensed up.

"I won't be going alone." She said quietly.

"Mione, you don't have to keep pretending, it's only going to make it worse when we all get there."

"For your information Ronald someone did ask me to the Yule Ball and I already said yes!" she shouted at him and stormed from the common room to cool off.

It wasn't long until Ginny and Fred found her pacing outside of the tower.

"I'll leave you guys to it," Ginny gave her a small smile and headed away from them.

"Are you alright?" It was the first chance they had had to speak to each other since he had asked Angelina to the ball.

"I'm fine."

"Ron's a git a lot of the time."

"Must be a Weasley thing." She shrugged and returned to the common room, not wanting to make Christmas any worse than it already was.

A few hours later and she and Ginny were in her dorm getting ready for the Yule Ball. She couldn't contain her excitement for the night ahead when she finally slipped into her dress robes. She had chosen a light, periwinkle blue colour that was made of a light floaty material that hung to her ankles. The dress fitted her well and with her hair pinned back magically into an elegant knot on the back of her head she looked gorgeous.

She ushered Ginny to go and meet Neville ahead of her and assured her that she hadn't gotten cold feet, she was definitely going to make it. Ten minutes later she headed down to meet Viktor in the entrance hall, where she found just the champions and their partners remaining. Harry grinned at her as he caught her eye and Viktor was beaming at her by the time that she reached him.

"You look beautiful Hermowninny!" he said, almost surprised at her appearance.

He bent in a low bow and kissed her hand before offering her his arm to take. As they got themselves into the line-up the doors opened and they led the procession of the Triwizard Champions into the Great Hall. She blushed as everyone began to whisper about her appearance with Viktor. She caught Fred's eye as they walked past him and Angelina and he looked livid. They finally made their way to the middle of the dance floor and assumed the position for the dance and as the music started she found herself actually enjoying herself already. By the time the more traditional part of the evening was over she was almost worn out as Viktor had made her dance the entire time. She excused herself for a moment to go and sit down and she found Harry and Ron sat at one of the tables. She sat down next to them and Ron was already glaring at her.

"How's your evening been?" Harry asked her.

"It's been…wonderful." She beamed. "Viktor's a lot of fun once he gets going, I just can't believe how much dancing I've done!" she laughed.

"It's good to know that _Viktor_ is a lot of fun." Ron said bitterly.

"Ron, what's wrong?"

"We're supposed to be behind Harry, not fraternising with the enemy!"

Hermione could hardly believe the words that Ron was saying. "You realise that this entire competition is about International Wizarding Relations? It's about making friends Ron! If I remember correctly you were so excited when he arrived in school and when he played at the World Cup!"

"Yeah but now look at him now that we know what he's like!"

"I don't know what you mean by that and to be quite honest if you're going to be like this I won't be staying with you, I don't want my evening to be ruined just because you're having a bad time!" she told them and left the table to go and find Viktor again, who was still dancing with his Durmstrang friends.

The rest of her evening went without a hitch and Viktor went as far as to walk her back to Gryffindor Tower once the ball had ended.

"Thank you for accompanying me this evening Hermowninny." He told her as he once again bent down to kiss her hand.

"Thank you Viktor, I had a really lovely evening," she smiled ta him.

Viktor pulled her towards him and into a hug and she was quite content to say that he was her friend. They heard laughter and voices enter the corridor and as they broke their hug and Viktor placed a kiss on her cheek to bid her goodnight she recognised Fred's familiar flash of ginger hair pass them.

"Goodnight Hermowninny." Viktor said and left her to make her way to bed.

As she entered the common room she noticed that Fred was saying goodnight to Angelina Bell. He gave her an eccentric bow and then placed a kiss on her cheek before she giggled and ran up the stairs to her dorm.

Hermione sat down in one of the armchairs near the corner of the room and finally let out a breath of relief: she had made it through the huge night that she had been dreading a little ever since Viktor had asked her to go with him. She even felt relaxed as Fred took the seat opposite her.

"How was your night?" he asked her, fairly calmly.

"It was lovely actually. Viktor was quite the gentlemen and I actually enjoyed myself."

"I bet he was. Why did you go with him?"

"I went with him because he asked me, which is more than I can say for you!"

"That's not fair! I panicked when Ron asked me and I thought that he would smack me if I asked you right in front of him!"

"I didn't realise that Ron's feelings were your prime concern." She told him sarcastically.

"All I meant was that I didn't even know if anything was going on with us for sure so I didn't want to take that leap in front of everyone for you to turn me down if you didn't feel the same way!"

"After everything that we've been through I'm insulted that you would even think that I would do that to you, you clearly aren't ready to see what we have." She could feel tears forming in her eyes.

"That's not true and you know that!" he said as they both stood from their chairs.

"I don't know that! I don't know anything that's going on because you won't talk to me about it!"

She didn't even notice Harry, Ginny, Ron and George entering the common room, all of whom stopped to stare at the sight of Fred and Hermione arguing.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find time to talk to you whilst you were busy fawning over Angelina Johnson!" she shouted in frustration.

"That's not fair! Let me make it up to you!"

"How do you plan to do that? I was so hurt when you asked her to the ball and you didn't even apologise!"

"Mione I'm so sorry, I was an idiot, please forgive me!" he grabbed her by the wrist as she tried to walk away and pulled her to him, trying to calm them both down in the process.

He felt her relax and he lifted her head to look at him.

"I really am sorry." He told her quietly and leaned in and planted a small kiss on her mouth.

She recoiled instantly and slapped him across the face.

"Just because you've apologised and I've run out of energy to argue with you does not mean that you can just kiss me!" she said, tears spilling down her face now as she turned and saw the rest of their friends staring at them in shock.

The sight of everyone watching them only made her more upset and she began to make for the stairs for her dorm.

"Mione wait!" Fred called after her.

She turned around, absolutely furious now, "You have ruined everything tonight!" she screamed and ran to her dorm.

As she was half way up the stairs to her dorm he stopped as she heard Ron shouting at Fred and Fred threatening to hex him for getting involved. Ginny caught up with her and managed to get her into her dorm where Hermione collapsed on her bed and started sobbing uncontrollably.

* * *

**I'm still loving writing this! I'm a full time student and I work part time so this is my own little escape from the world for a few hours whilst I'm writing! As usual please let me know what you think by leaving me a review!**

_**L x**_


	8. Chapter 8: From Task to Task

It had been two months since Christmas and two months since Hermione and Fred had had their enormous argument and it was safe to say that the two of them had put whatever they had together aside thanks to their ongoing feud. Instead, Hermione had spent an increasing amount of time with Viktor and on the eve of the second Triwizard Task she found out that she was being taken as a personal belonging to be hidden at the bottom of the Lake, a concept that scared her a little.

"Do not worry," Professor Dumbledore told her, Ron, Cho Chang and Fleur Delacour's little sister, "You will all be perfectly safe whilst underwater, no harm will come to you." HE took her aside and then asked her if she was comfortable being placed into the task, given that she was still recovering from her attack. She assured him that she was and with that they had been sent unconscious for the task to be allowed to take place.

The next thing that Hermione realised was oxygen hitting her lungs and crowds screaming with joy as Viktor had saved her from the depths of the lake. She was freezing cold and as soon as they were out of the water he disappeared into the crowds of Durmstrang students who were congratulating him. Hermione was enveloped by her fellow Gryffindors, namely Ginny and George, whilst Fred hung around a little awkwardly behind them.

"Get her another towel!" Ginny shouted at Fred who rushed off and returned with a pepper up potion from Madame Pomfrey too.

"She says this'll warm you up better," he smiled weakly at her.

"Thanks." She drank the potion quickly and instantly felt better.

There was an uncomfortable silence between them and as Cedric and Cho Chang arrived at the surface she found herself being pushed to the back of the Hogwarts crowd.

"Can we talk?" Fred asked her after a few more minutes.

"Not here, it wouldn't look good just after I was Viktor's prize. Back in the common room?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there."

She nodded and waited for Harry to emerge from the water. When he did it was just as the clock sounded the end of task to everyone. She pushed through the crowd to find both Harry and Ron being swamped in towels. She pulled them both to her into a massive hug and told them how glad she was that that was all over. They were handed more towels and Hermione began wrapping them both in the towels, trying to stimulate some sort of warmth for them.

She sat with the boys until they were told that they had to report to the Hospital Wing to be checked over. They made their way back across the grounds and into the castle and as they were placed in beds side by side Hermione took it upon her to ask for their advice.

"Fred and I are talking again." She told them, not really sure how else to launch into the topic.

"What did he do? I'll smack him again if he does anything to hurt you again!" Ron told her fiercely.

After their fight on Christmas day, Fred had received a horrible black eye from Ron for "treating his best friend like every other girl he had a fling with" and "abusing her trust". She couldn't believe that Ron had defended her that well and wasn't angry at the prospect of his big brother getting together with her. Well, technically, he was pissed off about the second part but only because he'd hurt Hermione. Partially because of Ron's actions and partially because of her own she had been far too mortified to even bring up the subject of their possible relationship with Fred and instead had decided to let the whole situation settle itself.

"He hasn't done anything Ronald. Not yet anyway. We're finally going to have that talk that we should have had months ago." She sighed at the prospect. "I don't even know what I'm hoping it's going to achieve."

"It'll be alright Mione. You've got us to beat him up if he messes you around again." Harry laughed.

"Yeah!" Ron piped in, "It doesn't even matter that he's my brother, I've got loads of those!" he laughed and Hermione found herself laughing with her best friends for the first time in a long time and already she felt better about whatever outcome came from her chat with Fred.

"What should I do?" she asked.

"Blokes are pretty simple Mione, you've got to be straight to the point otherwise we just won't get it." Ron started to tell her.

"In other words, tell him exactly what you think you should have told him months ago."

"Are you sure it will work?"

"If it doesn't then he's more of a moron than I thought he was." Ron laughed.

They were allowed to leave the Hospital Wing an hour or so later and when they arrived back in the Gryffindor common room they arrived to a roar of cheers and applause, not just for Harry but for Hermione and Ron too for being part of the task. Within the next hour the Gryffindor party was in full swing and Hermione had spotted Fred and George in a corner of the room, looking very proud of themselves.

"What have you two been up to?"

"Absolutely nothing Granger!" Fred started.

"We are insulted that you would think that we would be up to something."

She raised her eyebrows at them.

"We added a little firewhiskey to the punch…." They hung their heads a little.

"George go and check that there aren't any wasted first years." She didn't have to tell him twice.

George zipped off and left Fred and Hermione alone once again.

"So…how have you been?" Fred asked her.

She smirked at him, "you mean aside from being at the bottom of the Black Lake for hours earlier?"

"I'm glad you're ok. When I saw Krum pull you out of the water all I wanted to do was to pick you up and hold onto you. It brought back horrible memories. I just wanted you to be safe."

"I was never in danger, Dumbledore assured me of that."

"I'm glad. The idea of anything that horrible ever happening to you again terrifies the shit out of me Mione," he laughed a little nervously. "Look. I'm sorry about how I acted at Christmas. I was being a git and to be honest I just didn't want to admit to myself how much you meant to me."

"I'm sorry about how I reacted, I shouldn't have screamed at you in front of everyone, I'm quite embarrassed about that actually."

"Hermione can we give this another shot? I don't know what exactly this is but I know that it's not really something that I want to let go of again…" he trailed off and waited for her response.

"I'd like that." She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you Fred, for absolutely everything."

"I wouldn't have done any of it any differently, you've been one of us since day one Mione." He grinned at her.

From their small corner of the common room they were out of the focus of most of the party, all but Harry, Ron, George and Ginny who were watching the new couple from the other side of the common room.

"At least you won't have to punch him again!" Harry laughed as he slapped Ron on the back.

"Thank Merlin for that, I don't think mum was too pleased when she found out that I'd done it."

"Don't worry little brother, I'll keep my dear twin in line." George laughed before racing through the crowd to pick Hermione up and spin her around in congratulations.

If there was one way that Hermione could have described her evening she was sure that she would have probably picked "near perfection", they were all so happy and it was something she wished she could hold onto.

"Harry, you just need to remember to have your wits about you. You have to react quickly and know that this is the ultimate test of your ability. Focus on whatever is in front of you and it isn't about the most complex magic, it's testing practical ability as well as your common sense. You can do this." Hermione told Harry as they escorted him down to the stadium for the final task.

Harry was increasingly nervous as they made their way through the grounds. The task wasn't for another couple of hours but she and Ron had agreed to accompany Harry to the champion's tent early so that he could prepare and be with them.

Upon their arrival they found Dumbledore chatting with Cedric Diggory and his father, Fleur Delcaour, her little sister and Madame Maxime were obviously discussing tactics in fast French and Viktor Krum was pacing alone in the corner. Dumbledore finished his conversation with Cedric and made his way over to Harry.

"Harry, how are you feeling?"

"Nervous." He replied honestly.

"I suspected as much. I expect Miss Granger has been helping you to prepare?"

"Yes Professor. She's been a huge help to me."

"I do not doubt that. Harry, you must remember that this is a test of all of your abilities, not just the use of your magic. Stay strong and level headed throughout and I do not doubt that you will be on the path for success. If you would excuse me however, I must see to the final preparations, good luck Harry."

"Thank you Professor," Harry called after Dumbledore as he left.

Hermione could see Viktor approaching out of the corner of her eye and she braced herself for the encounter. The last time she had seen him had been shortly after the second task, where she had explained to him that she simply couldn't be more than a good friend to him and he had taken it rather well, even offering to help her study should she need it.

"Hermowninny, it is so good to see you again. How are you?"

"I'm quite well thank you Viktor, how are you feeling?"

"Confident. This is about magical ability, I fail to see where I would have any problems."

"That's good to hear. Good luck Viktor."

"Thank you, I shall see you after the task has taken place." He gave her a small bow and glanced in Harry's direction before retreating back to his corner.

"We should really head back out to the stands mate; I said that I would meet Dad and Bill around about now."

Harry looked a little sad at the prospect of his best friends leaving him but he understood that they would have to leave at some point.

"Good luck Harry, we're all behind you." Hermione told him as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and pulled Ron and him into a large hug.

As they made their way back to the stands Hermione and Ron were far too nervous for Harry to be chatty. It wasn't until they reached the stands that they were in the mood for conversation again. They found Mr Weasley, Bill, Fred, George and Ginny near the front and beside Amos Diggory, who was chattering away about how proud he was of his son. She slipped in between the Twins and Fred grinned at her when she took his hand.

"How is he?" Fred asked.

"Really nervous."

"I don't blame him-"

"-poor bloke's about to go and face merlin knows what in there!" George finished.

Hermione didn't reply, instead she was watching as the champions made their way to the front of the maze. The entire Hogwarts population was now gathered on the stands and cheering like crazy at the sight of Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter standing side by side, in deep conversation together. Shortly afterwards Dumbledore told them the premise for the final task and explained the rules that the contestants had to adhere to, as well as safety precautions. Before they knew it, the champions were lined up at their entrances to the maze, Harry was giving them a small wave and a desperate smile before the first cannon sounded and he had to disappear into the maze.

Hermione could barely contain her nerves or the thudding of her heart in her chest as the rest of the champions made their way into the maze and the crowd were left wondering just what on earth their peers were about to face.

"He's going to be alright isn't he?" Ron asked from the other side of George.

"I hope so." Hermione replied quietly and looked out at the vast maze in front of them.


End file.
